- \n
- You care what happens to your employees and your community after you leave<\/li>\n
- The business is genuinely profitable – not one you are hoping to exit ahead of trouble<\/li>\n
- Someone other than you could run the place, or you have time to build that<\/li>\n
- Fair market value would satisfy you, rather than holding out for the highest number in the room<\/li>\n
- You are working with a few years, not a few months<\/li>\n
- You are comfortable opening the books to the people who work there<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
It is usually not the right fit when<\/h3>\n
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- The business is not profitable, or its value rests almost entirely on you personally<\/li>\n
- You need to close quickly and take cash off the table<\/li>\n
- Getting the highest possible price is your only goal. A strategic buyer combining your company with others may pay above fair market value<\/li>\n
- There is nobody on the payroll who could lead, and no appetite to develop anyone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Business](\"https:\/\/nceoc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSC5541-2-1024x554.png\")
Owners and advisors comparing notes at an NCEOC event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n What “ready” actually means<\/h3>\n
The phrase advisors use is conversion ready<\/em>: moving a business from owner-dependence to operational independence. None of that work is wasted if you end up selling elsewhere, because it makes the company a better buy for anyone.<\/p>\n
The brain trust.<\/strong> Owners often hold decades of institutional knowledge in their heads. Externalize it – the relationships with suppliers and customers, the reasoning behind decisions, who your competitors are and how you watch them.<\/p>\n
Leadership and culture.<\/strong> The next generation of leadership is in place, or there is a road map to it. Feedback and accountability are routine. Employees feel able to make decisions within their remit without checking with the boss.<\/p>\n
Financials.<\/strong> The books are in order and somebody other than you understands them. Personal expenses are out, so the true profitability shows. Debt is minimized, both to make the business attractive and to leave capacity to borrow for the sale itself.<\/p>\n
Operations.<\/strong> Processes are documented and available. Somebody other than you has access to the software, the websites, the outside portals. The place runs regardless of who is at the helm.<\/p>\n
About the money<\/h3>\n
There is a persistent belief that selling to employees means accepting less. It is not true. These are market-value transactions, and they start exactly where any sale starts: a feasibility study, then a professional valuation that establishes what the business is actually worth. That number is the basis for negotiation whoever the buyer turns out to be.<\/p>\n
Where it genuinely differs: an outside investor buying your company as one of several they intend to combine may pay above<\/em> fair market value. If maximizing the number is your single goal, that could work in your favor. Most owners we meet are weighing more than the number.<\/p>\n
Scale matters more than you might think<\/h3>\n
An ESOP is a regulated retirement vehicle, which makes it the most expensive option to set up and run. Costs commonly start around $250,000, with ongoing fees for a trustee, a third party administrator, and an annual valuation. That overhead generally makes sense above roughly 30 employees or $750,000 in EBITDA, and S-corporation tax savings can offset it.<\/p>\n
Employee ownership trusts and worker cooperatives cost far less to establish – very roughly $20,000 to $70,000 – and carry no annual valuation requirement. So a smaller company is not shut out of employee ownership. It usually means a different model.<\/p>\n
How to find out<\/h3>\n
None of this can be settled from a web page. The only real answer comes from a conversation about your business, your timeline, and your goals – which is what we are here for, at no cost and no obligation.<\/p>\n